I wouldn’t mess with it, then.
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Maybe when my son finishes university and realises there are other places to live outside our apartment, then I will have a listening room available again 
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He’ll get there eventually 
Took me a couple years (well, given there was a pandemic in mind too) to get there.
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I would very much like someone to give me some pointers on how to train my ear to listen in a more analytically way and appreciate subtle differences.
Being relatively new to this hobby and having bought myself some “reference” sennheiser hd660s and a more fun ie300 iems
I prioritised buying a decent amp. I splashed out on the topping a50s and the improvement to detail, sound stage and base dynamics were huge and immediate compared to my cheap dongle. I was satisfied for a few weeks before having the itch to buy a separate and upgraded DAC. I ended up ordering the topping dx1 purely for the AKM AK4493S DAC chip at a cheap price. The relatively weak amp in the dx1 didn’t seem like a big deal as I had plugged it into the a50s.
The difference in sound between the dx1 and a cheap dongle is much more subtle and difficult to describe when amped by a50s. I am sure it’s because of my relative inexperience in knowing what to listen for and how to evaluate the differences. Or it could be the fact I may not have golden ears of reviewers.
Any tips will be much appreciated.
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The two primary reasons for that are, most likely, that:
- The differences between competent DACs are often very subtle.
- DAC-wise, the DX1 isn’t much beyond a cheap dongle-DAC in the first place.
There’s a lot more to a good DAC than the chipset it uses. And in the $99 desktop DAC/amp range, you can be pretty sure that it’s all basically data-sheet reference implementation, using massively high-gain OP AMPs running very high levels of negative feedback.
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You ask valid questions. Reviewers with golden ears get them from a long process of listening to many different audio chains and working on how to listen.
As @Torq points out there are limits to what you can resolve at a particular price point.
@Resolve , could you please point to some resources like your commentary on the Harmon curve and some listening exercises?
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After learning about frequency response, I recommend downloading Harman’s How To Listen. It’s a tool you can use to hear changes in the frequency response, which will help you learn what too much “upper mids” means, or what “bloated bass” sounds like. It’s still free to download me thinks.
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Thank you this is really interesting I will check it out.
Closed back with plenty of tight bass slam, detail and not crazy V shaped
A closed back D8000 sort of vibe?
Here’s a good starting point: The 10 stages you’ll go through when learning to read headphone measurements - YouTube
This is also an older article that needs updating, but it’s good some decent beginner info in there as well: Measurements and Frequency Response in Headphones – Headphones.com
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Thanks, @Resolve and @Nuance. Some of those should be pinned. @Liu_88 is hardly alone when starting the headphone journey.
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I loved your video on the 10 stages of headphone measurements. I feel I am currently between stages 5 (realising other metrics don’t matter) and 6 loving the Harman target to the point of wanting to buy the akg k371 (for science) despite having already “better” headphones. To my partner I am unfortunately already at stage 10.
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I might have missed it, but what stage is “I’m buying that headphone even though I can’t afford it”?
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Hah! That’s most of us at some point.
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I have to say that was very helpful for a newbie to learn how to listen better and really analyze what what I’m hearing and how changes in the different parts of FR affect the music. Thanks for the recommendation!
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Happy to help - glad you like it!
Does anyone know the dimensions (interior and/or exterior) of the HiFiMan hard shell case that is on their website? The website does not state them, and an email to their customer service department has gone unanswered.
Thanks!
Hi gang. Was just reading up on crossfeed implementation and was curious if/how any of you use it. Do you use it on just specific recordings where you hear a hard pan back and forth between channels? Old recordings? Specific headphones? On all of the time? If you do use it is it a feature on your amp or are you using a filter in Peace APO like the Jan Meier filter? Before I go down another rabbit hole just wanted to see what your views were on it.
I don’t use it at all. To be honest, I don’t think headphones are meant to sound like speakers, and the crossfeed implementations I’ve tried just don’t sound natural. To each their own, and definitely try it to see if you like it.
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As @Nuance implies, this is personal taste. Many vendors try to ‘improve’ on studio releases, ranging from Apple, Amazon, and Tidal as sources (e.g., 3D audio; simulated surround, head-position staging simulations), and then preamps, amps, and EQs do similar things. I sometimes try such things for 10 or 15 minutes but they rarely last. I do stick with some basic EQ tweaks though.
You may personally like or dislike any specific tweaks, but be aware that several layers of contradictory or complementary processing can flatten, exaggerate, or ‘ruin’ the source too. Try for yourself, if you like it it’s great. If not then it’s terrible.
Some of us become minimalists / purists while others tweak and tweak and tweak. Let your ears and budget be your guide.
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